What Wee Dram are you enjoying now?

[unclebunk]

... we've been slumming it with nas blends (excpt for Caol Ila 8 yo unpeated- and un-existent now at my house) for the last couple weeks. .in the following order: Ballentine's, White Horse, and now Teacher's. No problem with any of them ...

... just did a comparison between Ballentine's and Teacher's and I give it by a half point to Teacher's ....

Those three, plus Famous Grouse, are perpetually in stock in my house. I buy the 1.75L bottles and stick them out where they're visible and my friends go for 'em like moths to a light. I bounce back and forth between them and can never quite decide on a favorite, though if I absolutely had to pick two they would be Ballantine's and Teacher's, I suppose.

[Dramiel McHinson]

Did a nose dive into a 2007 Laphroaig 15 year old. Sweet mother of scotch was it good! All the Laphroaig taste was there except smooth as silk and very well balanced. I then tossed a bloopers of filtered water into it and it blossomed like sweet magnolias. Just a small amount of water opens this 15 year old remarkably. It brought out the more subtle honey, heather, and cereal notes and tamed the phenols a tad while balancing the smoke and oak. Great dram. Then to top it off I hit the 10 yo Laphroaig 2005 cask strength. At first I thought I might be able to replace my wife with these two lovely bottles but after the blush from the alcohol and stunning peat and smoke wore off, my mind cleared and I reasoned I shouldn't give up the lovely wife or the scotch. I would just have to balance my affection appropriately.

Cheers!

Dan

[ebo]

With this Fall weather we're having, I'm enjoying a nice pour of Caol Ila 12.

[ebo]

Having a dram of Ardbeg 10 while watching my Buckeyes look pathetic against Miami.

[Parkersback]

What's this, a SMS from Laphroaig not available here? Curses!

... we've been slumming it with nas blends (excpt for Caol Ila 8 yo unpeated- and un-existent now at my house) for the last couple weeks. .in the following order: Ballentine's, White Horse, and now Teacher's. No problem with any of them ...

Does anyone know--or is there a page you could point me to (I've looked a bit already)--that lays out in one place the sources of the more popular scotch blends? E.g. I have heard that there is Macallan's in Famous Grouse, but I wonder what else is in there, and I wonder the same for the rest of these blends.

Thanks for any help!

[Dramiel McHinson]

Opened the Aberfeldy 12 yo today. A real soft dram all on honey, rich malty cereal, well balanced oak and spice. This is the base for Dewar's blends and it performs very well as a single malt. A perfect dram to have after a good meal.

Cheers!

Dan

[unclebunk]

Does anyone know--or is there a page you could point me to (I've looked a bit already)--that lays out in one place the sources of the more popular scotch blends? E.g. I have heard that there is Macallan's in Famous Grouse, but I wonder what else is in there, and I wonder the same for the rest of these blends.

Thanks for any help!

I've often wondered this myself, as I can only find information in a piecemeal fashion. If I come across a site with more comprehensive info all in one place I'll let you know.

[Brisko]

I doubt that you are going to find anything definitive. Most blends have certain "foundational" malts but it's my understanding that overall their formulas are more generalized-- they're looking for malts that fit a certain profile, rather than product from a specific distillery. You might be able to find out what the foundational components are but a blend might use anywhere from 15 to 40 other malts to round out the profile.

In terms of foundational malts that I know of off the top of my head (and these are all more or less hearsay, and can change based on availability):

Famous Grouse has Highland Park in it, in addition to the already noted Macallan.

Johnnie Walker Black is based on Talisker, Caol Ila, Cardhu, and Linkwood.

Teacher's has a bunch of Ardmore.

White Horse is supposedly based on Lagavulin, though that seems suspect now given that Lagavulin is at such a premium.

Something else to keep in mind is that a the malt that a given distillery makes for blend fill may not be entirely representative of their house style. The most drastic expample might be Caol Ila's unpeated malt (which they also release occasionally on its own).

[unclebunk]

I doubt that you are going to find anything definitive. Most blends have certain "foundational" malts but it's my understanding that overall their formulas are more generalized-- they're looking for malts that fit a certain profile, rather than product from a specific distillery. You might be able to find out what the foundational components are but a blend might use anywhere from 15 to 40 other malts to round out the profile.

In terms of foundational malts that I know of off the top of my head (and these are all more or less hearsay, and can change based on availability):

Famous Grouse has Highland Park in it, in addition to the already noted Macallan.

Johnnie Walker Black is based on Talisker, Caol Ila, Cardhu, and Linkwood.

Teacher's has a bunch of Ardmore.

White Horse is supposedly based on Lagavulin, though that seems suspect now given that Lagavulin is at such a premium.

Something else to keep in mind is that a the malt that a given distillery makes for blend fill may not be entirely representative of their house style. The most drastic expample might be Caol Ila's unpeated malt (which they also release occasionally on its own).

Thanks for the info. Very helpful!

[Parkersback]

Thanks, Brisko, really helpful.